


Cassettes and Chaos

by SAYS



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 01:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15037781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SAYS/pseuds/SAYS
Summary: For Ramona --  Lily Evans and James Potter are adjusting to their new life as Hogwarts graduates. When mysterious cassette tapes lead to a scavenger hunt, and Death Eaters seem to be popping up anywhere and everywhere, Lily can't help but wonder if there's any connection between the two. **Written for the SAYS Facebook Fic Exchange***





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Ramona,
> 
> This is the first fanfic I have written for quite some time! Your prompt really gave way to a different type of storyline about James and Lily and their first few days in the Order. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. (:
> 
> SAYS and all of it’s members will always have a special place in my heart, so it has been an honor writing this story for you.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Tamara (aka Dobby101)

A morning mist hung low over the suburban neighborhood and the bright sun that peaked over the horizon promised a sunny start to summer, but the girl inside the top floor of the smallest house didn’t have a single thought of summer on her mind. At that moment, she was sifting through the bottom drawer of her chestnut dresser. Mostly, the garments she pulled out were placed in a pile on the side of the dresser, but every so often, she carefully folded one and set it into a cardboard box labeled “Apartment,” which was half full beside her. 

“James, can you hurry up with the donation box?” the girl called without looking behind her. 

“I put it behind you two minutes ago!” James laughed, turning from his spot near the girl’s bed and kicking the box towards the girl with red hair. 

“Oh,” the girl frowned. “Sorry, I didn’t see it there.”

"Come on, Lily. Cheer up! This should be a happy time…tonight we’re moving into our first place together!” James ran a hand through his messy black hair and placed his hands onto Lily’s small shoulders. 

Under his hands, her shoulders relaxed a bit and she looked up at him towering above her. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just, I love this house. It’s hard knowing that I’ll never be back.”

James looked into her bright green eyes and smiled. “I understand. But it’s normal for your parents to want to downsize. Your sister has moved in with her fiancé and with our new role in the Order, it’s safer for you not to be at home, anyway. This house is too big for the two of them.”

Lily’s parents had moved the previous week before Lily had traveled home from her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Their new house was only ten miles north of this one, and the picture they had sent Lily from their first night showed bright smiles lighting up each of their faces, but Lily wasn’t having as easy a time leaving.

“I know,” Lily looked back into the drawer and decided on the last garment. “I am excited to move in with you, but, you know, this is home. It’s my safe place and we’re going out into a world that is anything but safe.”

“That’s why we joined the Order,” James reassured her. “We’re going to make it safe again.”

“I hope so,” Lily said.

“Remember we start as soon as it’s dark tonight! Our first real mission!” James’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“We’re just going with Moody to put some protective charms over a muggle village. It’s not much of a mission, James,” Lily laughed. “Thought I’m not complaining. We’re making the world safer just by doing that.”

James didn’t deflate at all from Lily’s comment, but instead he turned back to the bed and dropped to his knees to peer under the bed frame. Lily flipped the flaps of the cardboard box shut and sealed it with her wand. She looked around the room. There was still a bit left in the room, but most of it was going to be donated. After living at Hogwarts for the last seven years, Lily had most of her significant belongings packed in her school trunk. She was only pulling out a few things to take with her.

James had argued that Lily should just vanish everything and save time, but she couldn’t just send all her stuff into nonbeing. She would feel much better knowing that somewhere, some other person was able to get use out of her old things.

She got back to work, this time focusing on her closet while James continued to clear out under her bed. She was just about done with sorting everything between donation and keep when James’s voice interrupted the silence.

“What’s this, Lils?” 

She turned and saw James turning a rectangular object over in his hands. Lily moved a bit closer and recognized the brownish-black ribbon that ran through the plastic of the prism. 

“That’s a cassette tape,” she explained. “Remember, I told you about them this year. It’s a way to record your voice or listen to music.”

James still looked confused, so Lily gently took the tape from his hands and reached into the box by his feet. She pulled out a much larger rectangular box and slipped the tape inside the slot. “I’m not sure what’s on this one. There isn’t a label. But if there is something, we’ll be able to hear it by pressing this button.”

She pushed her finger onto the play button. There was a small amount of static feedback before a small voice she had never heard before crackled from the speakers.

“Go to the place where people come and go,  
Day in and day out.  
The wheels turn and slow,  
Even with Royalty about.”

James and Lily stared at the cassette player for a few seconds before Lily pressed the rewind button to bring the tape back to the beginning.

“That’s weird. I knew I had a few music tapes, but I don’t have any idea where this one would have come from. I’ve never even heard that voice before.”

She pressed the play button again and listened to the short message one more time. Next to her, James’s eyes light up.

“It’s a scavenger hunt!” he exclaimed. “Let’s do it! What do you think it could mean?”

Lily looked at the cassette hesitantly. “I don’t know. It could be a trap. I don’t ever remember this tape being here and it makes no sense as to why it’s here now.”

“Maybe your dad made it or Petunia or someone,” James went on. “How could it be a trap? What kind of Death Eater would use muggle tools to lure two just-graduated Hogwarts students to…where do you think it means?”

Lily considered for a moment. On one hand, she agreed with James that it didn’t seem to coincide with Death Eaters, however the presence of the tape didn’t settle well in her mind. Her father, though his love for her had been admirable, had never been creative enough to come up with something like a scavenger hunt. And Petunia? The thought was laughable. First, Petunia would never make a scavenger hunt. Second, Petunia would never leave a scavenger hunt for her sister, whom she held an extreme hatred for.

“Uhm, I’m not sure. Seems like a train station to me,” Lily said, pulling her eyes from the cassette tape to glance at James. His deep brown eyes were staring at her, his face impassive. 

“Okay, well, maybe that was a dumb idea,” Lily shrugged. “It just made sense to me.”

“No!” James snapped from his thoughts. “I think you’re absolutely right. But there’s so many train stations. We’d be searching for weeks if we went to every single one.”

Lily paused and played the short message again. This time, she listened carefully for any clue. 

“It says royalty,” Lily pointed out. “There’s only one train station I can think of that would have to do with royalty and that’s King’s Cross.”

James nodded excitedly. “Let’s go!”

“James, we still have to finish up here. Mum and Dad said the new couple is scheduled to start moving in tomorrow. Not to mention all of the unpacking we have to do at our place and the job we have for the Order tonight!”

James looked around. The walls were bare. The few boxes labeled “Apartment” were stacked by the door and boxes labeled “Donation” laid by the adjacent wall. 

“We’ll just magic the boxes to the apartment and take care of them later, and it’s not like we’re far from King’s Cross. We could take a look around and then go straight to our job. Besides, it’s a beautiful day outside. We could walk to the train station and enjoy ourselves.”

Lily sighed. She had really wanted to get everything done today. Now she would have to continue unpacking tomorrow because the excited look on James’s face was the only thing that could take her away from her planned day.

“Fine. Let me just sort these last few things out and we can go. Why don’t you start sending the boxes?”

James finished sending the boxes much quicker than Lily finished sorting through the last of her things. He had settled himself by the window and was pretending to take a good look at the neighborhood, however Lily could tell by the antsy way his legs rocked back and forth that he was itching to figure out the cassette mystery.

“Alright, I think I’m ready,” Lily said, taking one last look around the room that she had lived in the last seventeen years. James pointed his wand at the final boxes and they disappeared. 

“Awesome, let’s go,” James stretched his hand towards Lily. She looked at him for a moment, taking in his eagerness to move forward. Even though she felt like she was leaving a large part of her world behind, she grasped James’s calloused hands and together they disapparated into oblivion.

 

\------

 

They appeared suddenly in a shadowed back alley, and the large amount of noise that filtered into Lily’s ears told her that they were in the heart of London. People walking and talking with their friends, out shopping on this sunny day. Bicycles zoomed on the sidewalks and the traffic bustled through the streets. 

James pulled on Lily’s hand, which was still clasped tightly with his and led them towards the crowds. As soon as they hit the sidewalk, Lily recognized the tall clock tower above King’s Cross station reaching up towards the sky directly in front of them. They walked slowly, taking in the scenes around them. Their new apartment wasn’t too far away. They could catch the Knight Bus and be there within five minutes. They could even walk if they really wanted to. Lily was excited to be living in the city, especially close to Diagon Alley. James had agreed to move into a muggle apartment building if they were close to Diagon Alley. Lily had happily agreed – it was the best of both worlds.

“James, this place is huge. I really doubt that there’s another tape around here,” Lily voiced her concern and looked around the vast corridor, staring in every direction as trains came and went. Just as one train pulled away, she noticed a cart behind it had hundreds of bright pieces of jewelry. She began to pull James towards it. 

“Let’s look at the jewelry,” she smiled and walked up to the stand. She browsed the hangers for a few moments before she noticed a thin chain with a small white-petaled flower dangling from it. 

She reached for the flower and gently held the necklace in her hand, debating whether she should buy the piece of jewelry. James, who had been pretending to browse on the other side of the cart walked up next to her and looked at the necklace. 

“That would be very pretty on you,” he said and reached for the back pocket of his muggle jeans. “Do you want it?”

Lily smiled but shook her head. “It’s okay. We don’t have any muggle money anyway and I prefer not to confund the shopkeeper.”

James grinned and pulled a note from his wallet. “Moody warned me that it would be wise to keep muggle money for emergencies. This seems like an emergency to me.” 

He pulled the necklace from its hanging place and winked at Lily, who smiled brightly. He took the necklace to the other side of the cart to pay the shopkeeper. Lily followed and saw that the man in charge looked middle age, and had short, speckled black hair. He smiled brightly at the couple and Lily felt like she knew him from somewhere.

When the middle-aged man caught sight of Lily, his eyes widened, and a bright smile spread across his face, revealing cracked, yellow teeth.

“Lily Evans!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting for you!”

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” Lily questioned hesitantly. 

“I’m afraid not, but I would recognize you from anywhere! I was told to give you this if you ever showed up here.” The man reached underneath his cart and pulled out another cassette tape. Lily reached and took it out of his hand.

“Thank you,” Lily said. “May I ask who gave this to you?”

“No, you may not,” the man laughed. “That would ruin the game.”

“So, it’s a game, is it?” Lily questioned, turning the new cassette tape around in her hands. The tape had no label, just like the one they had listened to earlier. She wished she had brought her cassette player with her, so she could listen to it right now. 

The old man looked at her with a twinkle in his silver eye and gave a sly grin. “You will see…” he said mysteriously.

“Well, thank you,” Lily said again, pocketing the cassette tape. “And thank you,” she said while turning to James. He had the necklace out and ready to clasp around her neck.

“Anything for you,” James said sweetly while putting the necklace on her. He leaned in and gave her a swift, yet graceful, kiss on the cheek. “How about we stop at the Leaky Cauldron to grab some food before we meet Moody?”

“Sure,” Lily answered, looking down at the beautiful white flower now hung around her neck. She took James’s hand once again and they began their trek across the city to the Leaky Cauldron.

 

\--------

 

By the time they had finished eating and chatting with the new bartender, Tom, dusk had taken over the sky. Lily looked at James, who was happily pushing his empty plate away from him, with a slight flutter in her stomach. No matter how safe Moody deemed this first task for the Order, she was still nervous about it. If there was one thing she learned in the past year, it was to expect the unexpected. Constant vigilance, as their new mentor would say. 

James didn’t seem nearly as worried. In fact, he was downright chipper as they meandered to the back alley that was designated for disapparating. Joining the Order was just about the only thing he talked about ever since Dumbledore had pulled them and a few others into his office at the end of May. She knew that he was excited about the chase and the action. James shined bright in the face of danger and a good threat heightened his skills. James was a Gryffindor through and through. He would never back down from a fight.

Lily, on the other hand, was smart, capable, and frequently the voice of reason within their group. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in what the Order stood for…no, that cause was the specific reason she joined up. Simply put, she was scared. She knew of the dangers and the death that ensued from fighting the Death Eaters. But as sure as she knew that people in the Order would die fighting You-Know-Who, she also knew that she, as a muggleborn, was likely to die either way. In a choice between hiding or standing up and fighting, Lily chose the latter. That was what made her the true Gryffindor that she had become. 

“We’re going to be a few minutes early,” James breathed, looking down at this watch. 

“Better to be early than late,” Lily reminded. “I’m sure Moody wouldn’t appreciate us being late.”

“Well then, I’m ready if you are,” James agreed, and for the final time that night, he took Lily’s hand in his and they disapparated into nothingness together.

The summer breeze hit Lily’s face as soon as the squeezing sensation passed. She took a deep breath to settle herself and opened her eyes to take a good look around her.

That was when she saw it for the first time.

Hovering twenty fit above the house at the end of the street, the one that they could walk straight ahead to, was a green monster. Around the demon figure was a haze of green, that lit up the roof of the house.

Although Lily had never personally witnessed the Dark Mark before, she knew what it was from the various descriptions she had heard from classmates, teachers, mentors, and the Daily Prophet. Without pausing, without thinking, her feet began to move towards the house, moving quicker with each step. James was right beside her, pulling out his wand and holding it high in the middle of this muggle neighborhood. Lily followed suit.

It took about two minutes to reach the house, and although Lily was out of breath, she didn’t pause at the walkway. She ran right up to the door and reached for the knob. Before she could open it, however, James grabbed her hand.

“Stop,” he said. “They could still be in there.”

“That’s the point,” Lily hissed, going to turn the knob again. “We need to try to help them.”

“No,” James held her hand still, applying a force he didn’t usually do with her. “The Death Eaters could still be inside. We need to be cautious.”

Lily understood. She raised her wand and muttered, “Homenum Revelio.” 

Nothing happened. She had never had to perform that charm in real life before, but the idea was that her wand would vibrate if there were any living people inside. The fact that nothing happened didn’t calm her nerves.

“Nothing,” she said and shook James’s hand from on top of hers. “Let’s go.” She swung open the red wooden door and stepped onto the welcome mat. To the side of the door were various pairs of shoes. Ranging from men’s work boots to children’s sneakers. A small pink bow was laying abandoned on the floor, and Lily could imagine a toddler pulling the bow out of her hair in frustration and the mother being too tired to pick it up. 

With both their wands raised in defense, Lily and James went around the first floor, checking the living room and the kitchen. There was no one. It didn’t even look like there had been a struggle. Dishes were sitting on the drying rack, and the tabletop was scrubbed clean. Nothing was out of place.

“Let’s go upstairs,” James whispered and nodded his head towards the stairs. 

Lily tiptoed, though she knew it didn’t matter. Her spell had told her that nobody alive was in the building. At the tip of the stairs, James turned right to explore the rooms over there and Lily began to explore left. At first, there was a small, yellow-painted bathroom with two children’s toothbrushes sitting on the sink, leaving a puddle on the countertop. That was the first sign that people had been living in this house tonight. Lily held on to her wand a little tighter.

Lily left the bathroom, and continued to the next room, where the door was wide open. As soon as she stepped into the room, her feet stopped. She took a deep breath and held out a lit wand in front of her to illuminate the whole room. There were two children size beds in this room, but they weren’t empty. Huddle in one were two adults, whose eyes were glazed open in shock. Their mouths gaped open, as if their last memory of a wand bursting green light towards them was the most shocking thing they had ever seen, which, Lily thought, it probably was. Their arms were splayed out, creating a fence, attempting to protect the two children behind them, one a boy and one a girl, huddled in an egg shape behind their parents. The way they were huddled prevented Lily from seeing their eyes. 

She didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t what their task was supposed to be. They were supposed to be casting protection charms over this neighborhood to prevent this from happening. But they had been too late. 

“Lily?” she heard James whisper from the hall. “Are you okay? I haven’t found anything yet.”

Lily knew that she should respond, but words were hard to come by. With gigantic effort, she moved her feet backwards and left the lifeless family behind. Just as she was at the edge of the doorway, she bumped against who she knew to be James, but it didn’t make a difference because she just about jumped out of her socks anyway. James grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back so that the dreadful view of the deceased family couldn’t be seen. 

James left Lily where she was standing and went in to see for himself. He came back out less than a minute later, his face a bit paler and his eyes fixed on Lily. 

“We need to contact Moody,” James said.

“No need, I’m already here,” a rough voice came from the shadows, making Lily jump again. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw their gnarled mentor walking towards them from the staircase. He walked right past them and into the room with the family. He took a bit longer than James had. He came back out a few minutes later, looking from James to Lily with a mysterious look on his face. 

“You two acted like bloody fools,” he growled. “Never again will you run into a house with a Dark Mark above it without backup…”

“Lily cast the human presence charm,” James defended themselves. Lily didn’t speak. She wasn’t as used to being scolded as James was.

“Good thought, but amateur move,” Moody responded. “There could have been Death Eaters outside the house, which your revealing charm wouldn’t have noticed. It could have been a trap. You both could have ended up the same way that family has.”

James didn’t say anything. Lily looked up at Moody. “What’s going to happen with them?”

“Nothing. We leave them as they are, and we leave without being seen,” Moody explained. “The muggle law enforcement will eventually come to investigate. They won’t find anything, and they won’t have a clue how it happened, but it’s better that their family knows their outcome rather than assume they’ve gone missing.”

Lily nodded, understanding the situation, even though every fiber in her being wanted to be the one to properly clean up the family. 

“What do we do now?” she asked. 

“We go back out and protect the other houses. It may have been too late for these folks, but it doesn’t have to be for the others,” Moody said.

Although Lily was tired and all she wanted to do was go to bed, she held her wand and left the muggle house, determined to help the others in whichever way she could.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A few days passed since they had discovered the murdered family, and Lily and James were moving forward the best that they could. Lily had spent much of her time unpacking boxes and decorating their new apartment. She was currently in her and James’s bedroom, straightening a picture of the two of them taken on Christmas day the previous year. In the picture, Lily was perched on James’s back, holding a mistletoe above his head and laughing as a pixy swooped at his face. Real life Lily smiled at the memory and turned back to face her handiwork.

She could have done all the work by magic, but she had the time to do it the muggle way. Her and James had decided to put their time into the Order after graduation. James’s family had left him more than enough money to get by and Lily had enough to live comfortably for a while. Their hope was that they could drive their energy into successfully ending the war and then focus on careers later.

Then there was also the fact that Lily’s safety as a muggleborn was never guaranteed. She was in danger just standing in their new apartment, which left her attentive always, and her wand was constantly by her side. 

Her gaze flickered to the clock on the bedside table – a few minutes before four. James was due home at any time. He had gone out with Sirius, Remus, and Peter to blow off some steam. They had found an empty field far away from muggle eyes where they could fly around and toss the quaffle around. Lily knew that they were headed to a pub after for a quick drink, but James had promised that he’d be home by four. 

She had chosen to stay back to finish apartment stuff. Quite honestly, she wasn’t much of a quidditch player and enjoyed organizing much more than watching the boys play. She had plans tomorrow to meet her friends, Natalie and Alice at the Three Broomsticks. Until then, she was okay with fixing up their new place.

Crack! The sound of apparition made Lily flinch. She drew her wand and walked quietly out to the living room, where she expected to see James standing. Sure enough, there he was, black hair flung every which why in the dizziness of apparition. 

“Can we please ask Moody or Dumbledore to put an anti-apparition jinx on this place?” Lily asked. She had been looking up the theory behind the magic, and while she thought that she could do it, she still wasn’t sure and now was not the time to experiment. 

James nodded, though she knew that he preferred being able to appear in their living room rather than apparating into the alley out back and walking up. 

“The next time we see them, we’ll ask,” James said. 

“How was your day?” Lily asked, walking up, wrapping her arms around James’s waist and kissing him. There was a moment where the kiss went a bit further than she had anticipated, but she playfully pulled back from him. “You need to see everything I got done!”

James groaned, obviously wanting to continue the kissing, but he followed her to the back room anyway. 

“It looks nice,” he said, looking around at the decorations that Lily had put up. 

“Thanks,” Lily beamed, proud of her work. “And you know what I found when I was unpacking?”

“What?” James asked innocently.

“This,” she said, pulling the next cassette tape from the top drawer of their dresser. “I had forgotten about it after finding the family.”

“You know, I was going to remind you about that tonight,” James replied. “But after the finding the muggles, I wasn’t sure if you were up to it.”

“Well, it would be nice to take my mind off everything. Especially since we have no word on our next task,” Lily answered. “And that old man seemed sincere enough. I don’t see the harm in trying to figure out this one.”

“Have you listened to it yet?” James asked.

“No. I was waiting for you,” Lily responded.

“Well, good. Get the player out and we’ll give it a listen.”

Lily went into the same drawer and pulled out the cassette player. She popped out the first cassette and inserted the second one. Her small finger pressed the play button.

“Sand and sea  
Has to be  
A nice place to go  
to find the next flow.”

Lily thought about it for a minute, with James next to her also pondering the riddle. 

“Sand and sea reminds me of the beach,” James said. 

“Well, duh,” Lily laughed. “That part is pretty obvious.”

“Well you weren’t saying it,” James playfully pushed her with his shoulder. 

“The world is filled with a million beaches,” Lily said. “How are we supposed to know which one to go to?”

“Play the second part again,” James encouraged, so Lily pressed the button. They both listened.

“It sounds like the person talking is putting an emphasis on the word nice,” Lily inquired. “It’s not pronounced that way, but it could possibly be referring to Nice, France.”

“That place your family went on vacation two summers ago?” James remembered. 

“Yes,” Lily replied. “It’s beautiful there. I’d love to go back.”

“Well, then, let’s go,” James grinned.

“We can’t just get up and go!” Lily looked shocked. 

“Of course, we can. That’s the beauty of apparition.” 

“It’s already late. The day is basically over. There wouldn’t be enough sunlight to enjoy,” Lily argued.

“Then tomorrow, we’ll wake up and go,” James smiled. “There’s no reason not to. We don’t have a task from the Order and until we do, we should be able to enjoy ourselves as much as we can. It can be our first vacation.”

Lily smiled. “Seems like a perfect day.” She leaned up and kissed him soft, pulled slightly back and then went in again. James responded accordingly but took two seconds to say one last thing before they wasted their night together in the best way.

“It will be.”

 

\--------

 

The sun peaked through the curtains the next morning, but Lily and James were already up and getting ready for their day away. They had both opted for light, summer clothes: Lily in a blue sundress and James in shorts and a tee. Lily was just fastening the clasp on her white flower necklace while James waited for her in the living room.

“Time to go, I’m hungry,” he whined. They had planned to get breakfast in Nice. Lily knew of a sweet little café which overlooked the sea. 

“You’re not going to whittle away to nothing,” Lily teased. “But I’m ready either way.”

Lily joyfully walked over to him and grabbed his hand. She twisted on the spot, thinking hard about an alley she remembered from the last time she visited. In no time, she could smell the sea lingering in the air. A smile overtook her face.

“Let’s go,” she continued to lead James to the restaurant. “It’s right around the corner.”

The couple enjoyed their breakfast, chatting and laughing the whole time, holding a hand across their table and tasting the wonderful French cuisine. After breakfast, James suggested walking along the beach. They walked right along the water’s edge, holding their shoes in one hand while they let the cool ocean dance around their feet. 

For the first time in months, Lily was able to forget about You-Know-Who and the terrors that he brought to the wizarding population. She playfully splashed water up at James and he responded by picking her up and pretending to throw her in the water, which only made her hold onto him tighter. They sat on the beach until the sun was high in the sky and other tourists had started to flood the area. 

Next to her, James’s stomach began to rumble. Lily laughed.

“Let’s go get some lunch,” she said. “There’s this great place called Bordeaux that I went to with my family the last time I was here.”

“Sounds good,” James nodded and stood, wiping the sand from his shorts. Then he reached and helped Lily up as well. “Lead the way, darling.  
”  
Just as they were about to slip their shoes back on, a distant voice called out, “James!” 

Lily looked around but saw nobody else who was paying them any attention, but then she heard it again.

“James!”

James had begun to dig in his pocket, which Lily knew must have an extension charm on it judging by the size of the personal mirror he pulled out a second later. 

“You brought the mirror along?” Lily scolded gently. 

“Sorry,” James said. “It was the easiest way for Sirius to relay any messages.”

He turned the reflective side towards himself, but neither of them was surprised when it was Sirius Black staring back at them instead of James. His long black hair, shining grey eyes and all-knowing smirk were very different than James’s short mop and chocolate brown eyes (though the smirk was quite the same between the two of them). Lily cast a look around them to make sure no muggle was watching them, but everybody else seemed to be absorbed in the beautiful day just as they had been a few moments earlier. 

“Hey, Padfoot,” James greeted. “What’s going on?”

“Prongs,” Sirius responded, then looked at the backdrop around James’s head. “Where the bloody hell are you? Last time I checked, it’s a monsoon outside here in London.”

“Nice,” James answered. “Lily and I took a day to get away and we think her next tape led here.”

“Oh! The tape!” Sirius grinned like a fool, which Lily took to mean that James had filled his best friend in on the cassette situation. “Hey, Lils!” 

James turned the mirror to face Lily, who smiled warmly and gave a little wave. “Hey, Sirius. Are you still coming over for dinner on Sunday?”

“Of course,” he replied. “Wouldn’t miss a free meal.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Lily laughed. “And as much as I appreciate seeing your face, the day here is perfect and we’re about to get some lunch. What do you need?”

“I see, I see. Next time I want to come on one of your romantic getaways,” Sirius teased. “But, I guess I’ll get to the point. Moody was just in touch. The Order is trying to recruit new members. Peter and I have been assigned to Robert Bogniker, that bloke a year above us? The one who tried out for Keeper, but was so horrible that he collided with his own goal post?”

“Yes, I remember him,” James laughed. 

“He was a nice kid though,” Lily intervened. “His quidditch skills may have lacked, but he was Head Boy.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. They make anybody Head Boy,” Sirius laughed, eyeing James, who had taken that role in seventh year.

“Yeah, yeah,” James said. “I’m assuming we have somebody to try to recruit?”

“Frank Longbottom,” Sirius answered. Frank had been in the same year as Robert. The last thing Lily had heard about him was that he was busy completing auror training at the ministry. Her friend, Alice, had recently started going steady with Frank, but with the current climate, Lily hadn’t had the chance to get reacquainted with him. 

“When do we need to do this by?”

“As soon as possible,” Sirius responded. “Moody didn’t give specifics, but from what I’ve learned about Moody, you do what he asks as soon as he asks it.”

“Yeah, I get that feeling from him, as well,” James said. “I guess we’ll stop in tomorrow morning.”

“Sound good. I’ll leave you two alone then,” Sirius grinned and winked. “Have fun!”

“Bye, Sirius,” Lily said as James said goodbye as well, and tucked the mirror away again.

“So, Frank?” James questioned as they began to walk again. “Isn’t he the one that Alice has been seeing?”

“Yeah,” Lily answered. “She had been in contact with him to ask about auror training, and it led to more, I guess.”

“If he’s an auror, at least we know he’s for the cause,” James said.

“True, and I trust Alice’s judgement,” Lily said, then she pointed up ahead. “There’s the place I was talking about.”

A small, quaint lunch place with blue chairs and tables placed on the sidewalk laid up ahead. The sign above the shop read “Bordeaux.” The restaurant seemed to have a steady flow of people heading in and out.

Lily and James headed towards the hostess stand, where they requested a table for two outside. It only took them a few minutes to be seated, and they were just comfortably getting into their positions when the waiter walked over. 

“Bonjour!” the man said in French. 

“Hello,” Lily responded.

“Ah, English!” the man seemed relieved, and Lily noticed an English accent instead of a French one. “I moved here not too long ago, and while my French isn’t bad, it’s nice to have a table that speaks my language.”

The waiter moved quickly to lay out silverware for them and to pour them each a glass of water. This man didn’t look much older than them. His messy blond hair was speckled with brown, and he had sweet brown eyes that reminded Lily of someone she knew, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“What can I get for you?” he asked, and Lily and James placed their orders. The waiter wrote down what they wanted, assured them that it wouldn’t be too long, and went back to the kitchen.

The lunch hour passed by joyfully. Lily and James discussed tactics on how to get Frank to join the Order and wondered just how early they had to show up at his house before he went to work for the day. Once they had the finer details planned out, the conversation switched smoothly back to less important conversation, like whether they should invest in buying an owl. 

Their food was eaten slowly, and they spent time relaxing. When their plates were cleared and their drink cups empty, the waiter came back over. Instead of placing a check in front of them, he slid another cassette tape onto the table. Lily looked up at the waiter’s smiling face in shock. 

“Your bill has been taken care of. I was simply asked to give you this.”

“By who?” Lily questioned. She had already grabbed the tape off the table. 

“I am not sure of his name,” the waiter grinned and before anymore questions could be asked, he nodded towards the two of them and walked away.

“Well, that was strange,” Lily said, but she was glad that they had found another tape instead of this being the end of the line.

“Did you bring the thing you play the tape in?” James asked eagerly. 

“Yes,” Lily said, fishing it out from the bag she had shoved it into this morning. She pulled out the tape player and laid it on the table. She carefully slid the new tape in place, and pressed play.

“A village only known to your commune  
will hold the final clue  
to what it is awaiting you.   
Do not think hard,  
as this is a place you have been many times before.”

“Know by my commune?” Lily thought out the tape. “Could that mean the wizarding community? But that would have to mean whoever left these tapes was a wizard.”

“Or somebody who knows about wizards,” James thought out smartly. “Your family knew you were a witch.”

“You’re right,” Lily agreed. “But how could anybody in my family get a clue to Hogsmeade, which is the only wizarding village I’ve ever gone to many times.”

“An owl?” James questioned after a moment of thought. “They may have sent an owl back after you wrote home from school.”

“It seems a bit off,” Lily thought. “But I have plans to meet Alice and Natalie there tomorrow anyway, so I can poke around a bit then.”

“That’s not fair!” James exclaimed. “I’ve been here for all of them. I want to come.”

“If I find anything, I promise to wait to figure it out until I’m back home,” Lily reassured James.

“Fine,” James huffed. 

Lily leaned over the table and kissed him lightly. “Come on. We still have a full day ahead of us and there’s plenty more that I want to show you.”

James grinned, took Lily’s hand, and the couple left the restaurant to continue to their wanderings through the wonder of Nice.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Lily awoke bright and early the next morning, her eyes bleary in the summer sun shining through the window. She reached over and felt James snoozing next to her. She pushed him hard and said, “It’s time to get up.”

James rustled in the covers and let out a loud sigh. “You know, when I imagined waking up in the same bed, I thought it would be nice and peaceful. You’re a terrible alarm clock.”

“Oh, well,” Lily laughed. “You still have a lot to learn about me.”

“And I can’t wait to learn it all,” James grinned, making the sort of comment that made Lily’s heart melt. 

“I’m going to get ready,” she said. “We have to be at Frank’s place by eight.”

“Alright,” James said, searching his drawer for a clean t-shirt. 

Lily grabbed her fluffy towel off the back of their door and stepped into their small, but comfortable bathroom. She undressed slowly, still getting over the sleepiness in her body. She adjusted the knobs on the shower and waited until the water was just right before stepping under the steamy warmth. 

Her and James had a steady plan to get Frank to join the Order. From what they knew of Frank, they didn’t think it would be too hard to get him to join. He was all about fairness and equality and his work in the auror department showed his dedication to fight the Dark Arts. They were simply going to show up, hope he let them in, and talk to him about all the good the Order was doing. The only thing that Lily was apprehensive about was Alice. As far as she knew, her best friend wasn’t on the list to be asked to join the Order. Lily knew Alice would be a great addition to the Order, although she was sometimes a bit more timid than a true Gryffindor would be and took quite a bit longer to learn spells. But Alice had a huge heart and would never consider going to the dark side. 

It wasn’t Lily’s place to suggest who should or shouldn’t be in the Order, but she hoped that if Frank joined and Alice and his relationship worked out, she would eventually be asked to report for duty.

Thinking about her future, Lily finished washing herself under the hot steam of the shower’s water. When she got out, she rubbed herself dry and fluffed her hair with the towel she had brought with her. Grabbing her wand from the kitchen sink, she waved it in a circle around her hair and suddenly her red locks were as dry as they had been when she walked into the bathroom. She wrapped the towel back around herself and went to pick an outfit out from their bedroom.

It didn’t take Lily long to pick out a pair of jeans and a simple top. She was just adjusting herself when James walked in and asked if she was ready to go.

“Nearly,” she said, going back into the bathroom to grab her wand. “Now I’m ready.”

“Alright, let’s go,” James said, reaching for Lily’s hand. He turned on the spot and pulled Lily in the right direction as they apparated away.

Frank lived in a wizarding neighborhood with his mother, so they didn’t have to worry about being seen appearing out of nowhere. Other witches and wizards were already up and moving about. Lily could see kids playing on broomsticks in their yards and witches gossiping on the corner with a copy of The Daily Prophet spread between them. 

James took a good look around and pointed to the left. “I think it’s that way.”

“Lead the way,” Lily motioned.

James looked back and forth all the way up the street, assessing the houses until he found one that matched the description Moody had sent to them late last night. The house was brick red, plopped in the middle of a small, square yard. The trim was white and there were two levels. The house was modest, and Lily couldn’t imagine more than three people living inside, but to her knowledge, Frank’s father had passed away years before. 

Together, Lily and James opened the fence door and walked up the path leading to the front door. Casually, Lily knocked, hoping that the people inside were awake.

Lily strained her ears, but there wasn’t a peep from inside. She looked at James, who looked curious and took another step towards the door, when out of nowhere, the door disappeared and a woman a head shorter than either of them, wearing an eccentric vulture hat, and brandishing her wand appeared.

“Who are you and what do you want?” she hissed, continuing to point her wand back and forth from Lily to James. Lily made a snap decision to leave her wand where it was in her pants pocket. She was glad to see that James was doing the same. 

“I’m Lily Evans and this is James Potter,” Lily said carefully, holding her hands up by her head. “We’re here to see Frank Longbottom.”

“Potter, eh?” the women asked, glancing at James with a bit of recognition. “What do you want with my boy?”

“Professor Dumbledore sent us to talk to him,” James replied, taking over the conversation. “Is he home?”

“Yes, I’m right here!” a deep voice called from behind the women. “Mum, put that wand away. Lily here is best friends with Alice and James was chaser and quidditch captain for Gryffindor. They’re not dangerous.”

Frank’s mum scoffed and hesitantly lowered her wand. “You can never be too careful in today’s climate.”

“We agree,” Lily nodded her head fervently. “That’s part of the reason we’re here to see Frank. May we come in?”

“Yes, please do,” Frank said, ushering them past Mrs. Longbottom. He showed them into the living room. Lily and James sat on a cozy red loveseat and Frank chose an armchair across from them. “Mum, could you give us some privacy please?”

Mrs. Longbottom nodded and slowly left the room. Lily had a feeling she wouldn’t be far, perhaps just in the next room over, eavesdropping on the conversation. 

“So…Dumbledore sent you?” Frank started, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. 

“Yeah,” James began. “A few months ago, Dumbledore approached us and asked us to join The Order of the Phoenix, which is a group specifically created to fight…”

“Voldemort, yeah I know,” Frank said. Lily noticed right away that Frank wasn’t afraid to say the name and she instantly felt reassured that their meeting was going to finish in their favor. Frank noticed that James and Lily were surprised by the announcement. “Mum says it, too. She may seem a bit whacked right now, but she’s only being cautious. I’d like to see a Death Eater try to take her down.”

“She does seem a bit…” Lily searched for the right word, “rambunctious.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” Frank laughed, but quickly got back to the heart of the conversation. “So…the Order?”

“Dumbledore would like us to extend an invitation to join,” James explained. “Don’t feel the need to answer us right away. We know it’s dangerous and joining basically puts you directly on the Death Eater’s hit list. Lily and I…”

A crash shook the house. Dust fell from the roof and glass rattled on the dresser. Instantly, Lily grabbed her wand and stood up. James was by her side and Frank wasn’t far behind. Before any of them had the opportunity to react, a dark figure entered the room and shot a blinding red light at the three of them. Luckily, James’s reaction time saved them. He cast a shield charm just in time to reflect the spell back towards it’s caster. 

The caster had a hood up, so Lily had no inkling of who it could be, but she was certain that it was Death Eater. Next to her James shot a spell, which the person easily deflected. A high-pitched cackle came from inside the hood, and Lily could tell right away that this was a woman.

“Finding some new friends for Dumbledore’s little gang?” she antagonized. With a quick slash, Lily, James and Frank were all blasted off their feet. Lily smacked hard against the wall and slumped to the ground. Her wand had flown out of her hand. She couldn’t see it anywhere in her immediate area. 

“Well, well, well,” the woman rounded on Lily. Behind the dark cloak, Lily saw James start to stir and search frantically for his wand. He looked to be in the same predicament Lily was. She glanced each way, but there was no sign of Frank. She wondered if he had fallen behind the couch or some other piece of furniture. 

“Lily Evans,” the woman taunted. Lily didn’t like that this woman knew her name. “The Dark Lord always requests that we take care of mudbloods first.”

“Leave her alone!” James bellowed from where he was still searching frantically for his wand. To Lily’s horror, she saw him stand up without it and face the woman head on. He stood like he was ready to take on the world, but Lily knew he had nothing if he didn’t have his wand. Wizards didn’t fist fight. They dueled. 

The woman turned towards James, and Lily had a brief glimpse of a teasing smile under her hood. She was so close to Lily that the hem of the Death Eater’s cloak skimmed Lily’s feet. 

“Ah! James Potter! Trying to save your mudblood girlfriend? How very brave of you!” the woman said. “I’m sure the Dark Lord wouldn’t mind if I disposed of you first. The mudblood can watch the life leave your eyes.”

Many things happened at once. The Death Eater raised her wand high and slashed it through the air, causing a burst of purple light to erupt from the tip. James dove like an American baseball player towards the woman, while Lily kicked out her leg as hard as she could at where the Death Eater’s knees should have been. The stranger was knocked off balance with the force of both Lily and James. Her spell missed James and ricocheted off the walls for a few moments before dissipating into the air. 

“You imbeciles!” the woman cried from her new position on the ground. Unfortunately, she hadn’t lost her wand in the fall like Lily and James had. Not bothering to push herself up, she raised her wand again, but before she had the chance to hurt anyone, two charging red lights hit her directly in the chest. She fell back to the floor, her hood falling as her head banged against the wood. There was a mop of black hair cascading crazily around her face. Her dark, nasty eyes were opened in shock from being hit so suddenly, but she was frozen, unable to hurt them any longer.

Lily quickly scrambled to her feet, while James did the same. Frank was standing steady with his wand still raised behind the couch and Mrs. Longbottom stood defensively at the living room doorway. 

“Good job, son,” Mrs. Longbottom nodded with praise. “Better call your friends at the Ministry. They can pick her up and transport her to Azkaban. Any idea who she is?”

“No,” Frank shook his head. “Pardon me. I’m going to floo the Ministry, so someone can be here right away. We don’t want any of her friends coming to check in on her.”

Frank left the room, probably to go to a fireplace that was located somewhere else in the house. Mrs. Longbottom turned to Lily and James.

“That was very brave of you. To fight back without a wand.”

“It was a reaction,” Lily said. “I didn’t want her to hurt James and, quite frankly, kicking her seemed like the only option.”

“I think at the time that was your only option,” Mrs. Longbottom agreed. “Now I know I wasn’t supposed to hear your conversation with Frank, and it really is up to him, but just know that I would be incredibly proud and honored to have him join The Order.”

“Really?” James asked. He, too, must have been thinking that Mrs. Longbottom seemed like the type that would rather have her family protected than putting themselves out on the front line. 

“Yes,” she said assuredly. “Me? I’m strong and capable, but I need to stay here protect my livelihood. Frank? He would make an excellent addition to your cause.”

“We think so, too,” Lily nodded. At that moment, Frank walked back into the room. He pointed his wand at the Death Eater and ropes tied themselves around her arms and legs.

“The aurors on duty will be here in a few minutes. They’ll take her to Azkaban, but I’m sure Voldemort will break her out soon enough. At least she’ll be out of the fight for a few days,” Frank explained. 

“We’ll head out then,” James said. “I know Dumbledore does his best to keep the Ministry and the Order separate.”

Frank nodded, then he took a deep breath and said, “Please let Dumbledore know that I’m in. Being an auror has taught me that the Ministry isn’t always capable of doing what’s best to take these scums down. Too many protocols and rules.”

“Thanks, Frank,” Lily said. “We’ll let him know and thank you for getting us out of that situation.”

“Anytime,” Frank said. “That easily could have been me that lost my wand.”

Outside, there was about a dozen loud cracks and Lily and James could see Ministry members appearing out by the white fence. 

“Go out the back. Walk to the woods and disapparate there. They won’t be able to hear you from the house,” Frank advised and led them to the back door. 

“I’m sure we’ll see you soon,” James said as they left the back door.

“Tell Alice I’ll see her tomorrow,” Frank said to Lily. 

“Will do,” Lily agreed, remembering her outing with Alice and Natalie later at The Three Broomsticks. 

Lily and James lightly jogged across the lawn towards the woods, hoping that the Ministry members couldn’t see them. They got about ten feet in before James stopped them both.

“Lily, they knew we were going to be there. They knew who we were,” James said worriedly. “Somebody’s giving information to the other side. They obviously don’t want us getting stronger. This is twice in three days that we’ve had Death Eater run ins on jobs for the Order.”

“We should contact Dumbledore,” Lily said. “He needs to know this happened.”

James brought out his wand and performed a tricky spell that caused a gigantic silvery stag to erupt from his wand tip and stand in front of them. 

“Tell Dumbledore that Lily and I were attacked by a woman Death Eater while recruiting Frank. Tell him that we think somebody’s a traitor,” James said. The stag nodded as if he knew exactly what James had said and took off into the horizon. 

As Lily gripped James’s hand to disapparate, she couldn’t help but focus on the uneasy feeling forming in her mind. Somebody knew what they were doing and where they would be…it seemed before they were aware themselves.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

“Maybe I shouldn’t meet Alice and Natalie tonight,” Lily worried aloud as her and James bit into the sandwiches he had made them for lunch. 

“It would be good for you to go,” James said, picking up his water to take a sip. He set it down and continued. “After the past few days, being with your friends will help you take your mind off things.”

“It might not be safe. Especially if our theory is true about the Death Eaters keeping track of us,” Lily countered.

“Lily, the Death Eaters are probably keeping track of every Order member. It doesn’t mean we stop living our lives,” James said, looking Lily in the eye. 

“It’s just scary,” Lily said, setting her half-eaten sandwich back on her plate. 

“I know it is. But fear can’t stop you from doing what you want,” James said. “Besides, you have to look for the next tape! Maybe it’ll even be at The Three Broomsticks.”

“I want to know about the tapes as much as you, but if it requires me to search all over Hogsmeade, it’ll have to stay wherever it’s at. I’m not going off on my own after dark,” Lily said.

“But promise you’ll look around?” James asked.

“Why is this so important to you?”

“It’s a mystery! Who doesn’t like to solve a mystery?” James said, and Lily rolled her eyes.

“Fine. I’ll keep an eye out, but I’m not promising I’ll find anything.” Lily grabbed her plate and threw the rest of her sandwich away. She cleaned the dish with a simple cleaning spell and put it back in the cabinet. 

They hadn’t heard from Dumbledore yet. Lily hoped James’s patronus had successfully delivered its message, but they hadn’t had much practice in talking patronuses yet, so there was a chance that it hadn’t gotten to it’s destination. She didn’t voice this concern aloud yet because she didn’t want to upset James, who prided himself on being good at magic. As soon as they had gotten home, Lily and James had set up the same protective charms over their apartment that they had set over the muggle houses. 

The next few hours passed rather quietly. James spent some time writing to Remus, who would be leaving for a special mission in a few days’ time. They didn’t know much about it, but they were sure it had something to do with Remus’s werewolf infliction. While most Order members were given simpler tasks to begin with, Remus had a skill that nobody else had, which meant that he was pushed into the danger quicker than the rest of his friends.

Lily took a few moments to fix herself up (to which James spent some time distracting her by continuously kissing her neck), but it was soon time to meet Natalie and Alice. Lily made sure she had her money and her wand, then bid James good-bye.

“I’ll be home by dark,” Lily said.

“Have fun,” James kissed Lily, and then she left the room, no longer able to apparate in and out of the apartment because of the charms they had set up.

She took the stairs down from their third-floor apartment and casually left the building, nodding politely to the receptionist. Making sure that nobody was watching her, she turned into the trash alley to the right of the entrance. Without wasting time, she spun on the spot and disappeared from the middle of London.

She reappeared on the bright, cobbled street of Hogsmeade. Witches and wizards were out enjoying the sunlight. This was the first time Lily had visited the village outside of her time at Hogwarts. It was different to see adults walking around, instead of thirteen to seventeen-year old children. The street was a lot calmer and less noisy. While Lily had loved their trips during school, she felt like she could get used to the calmness surrounding the village like it was today.

She began her trek down the street to The Three Broomsticks. On her way, she glanced in shop windows, partly admiring the items for sale, and partly looking for a cassette like she had promised James. 

She wanted to find the last cassette, as well, but the last few days had shaken her. She felt silly worrying about a simple cassette that probably had no other importance than to lead her on a wild goose hunt. In fact, now that she thought of it, James had probably set the whole thing up just to have some fun. He was known for his elaborate pranks at school and this wouldn’t be far out of his reach if he truly had planned it.

She continued to keep an eye out, thinking that since James knew of her reluctance to search for the tape, he would make it easier to find. However, through her five-minute walk to the pub, she spotted no glance of a tape anywhere. It was with a bit of disappointment that she opened the doors of the pub and stepped inside, searching for her friends.

It didn’t take long to find them, sitting at a table in the corner. They each had a butterbeer sitting in front of them, with one waiting to the side. Lily sidled into the booth with a large smile on her face.

“I missed you guys,” she greeted, taking the extra butterbeer in her grasp.

“We missed you, too!” Natalie greeted. “How’s it going? Did you and James move into the new place?”

“It’s good,” Lily said, looking down at her butterbeer. “James and I moved in a few days ago. You are always more than welcome to stop by! Just let us know beforehand. We have the place under a lot of protective charms.”

“That’s smart,” Alice nodded. “Frank said that he wants to put charms up at his house, as well. He said he’d help me at my parents, too.”

“How is Frank?” Lily asked innocently, aware that Alice couldn’t know that she had just seen Frank that morning. 

“He’s great!” Alice gushed. “It’s going so well. He’s even talked about getting a place together.”

“That’s wonderful,” Lily said. “We should all get together sometime. You in, Natalie?”

“Only if Sirius isn’t there,” Natalie scowled. She and Sirius had had a bit of a falling out the past year. Sirius wasn’t exactly the most charming boyfriend and rarely put his significant other above the needs of himself and his friends. While Lily loved Sirius, she also hadn’t been the biggest fan of how he had treated her best friend.

“We’ll make sure it’s on a night he’s out of town,” Lily smiled.

“Perfect,” Natalie said. “Just owl me a date and time and I’ll be there.”

Madam Rosmerta came over and asked if they were ready to order. The three girls asked for their favorite meals and continued the happy banter. Lily learned that Natalie had received a follow up letter to her application to Healing school. She was to report on the first of July to start her training. Alice hadn’t yet heard from the auror department, but her friends assured her that everybody was most likely busy searching for Death Eaters that they hadn’t had a chance to look at new applications. 

Lily didn’t talk much about her plans for a job. Her friends weren’t aware of her work for the Order and she had told them that she had applications out at a few departments at Ministry but hadn’t heard anything back yet. It was easier than trying to spawn something out of the truth. 

“So, want to shop around a little?” Alice suggested lightly once they had paid their tabs. 

“I told James I’d be home by dark, but there’s at least an hour before that,” Lily thought of the tapes. She felt much better now that she was with her friends. “I’m in.”

“Sure,” Natalie said and threw her napkin on the table. On their way out, they said thank you to the barmaid and stuck a tip on the table. 

Alice led them to the nearest shop, a little hole-in-the-wall place that sold musical items. Lily had never been in the store before and was surprised by the calming atmosphere inside. Harps, violins, and pianos hung all the way up the walls. A light, relaxing tune was playing throughout the store, but Lily saw no hint of a speaker. As Alice and Natalie began to discuss a small music box in the window, Lily wandered to the back of the store. There was a short, grey-haired old lady sitting behind the counter. She had a green cloth in one hand and a small percussion in the other. Her horn-rimmed glasses had a beaded holder, which hung loosely on the back of her neck. As she saw Lily approach, she smiled warmly.

“Anything I can help you with?” the lady asked kindly. 

“Do you by any chance have any cassette tapes?” Lily asked innocently.

“Any what?”

“Cassette tapes,” Lily said again, deflating a bit. She had thought this would be the perfect place to find a tape.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, dear,” the lady frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Lily said. “Thank you for your time.”

Lily turned away to find Alice and Natalie, who were waiting by the door, obviously not too interested in the shop anymore. 

“Honeydukes?” Alice asked. 

“I’m pretty full, but I guess I could always buy now and eat later,” Lily said with a smile.

“That’s the spirit!” Natalie approved, and the three girls continued out the door and down the street, discussing the odd music store they had just been in.

Honeydukes wasn’t too far from where they were currently at, and Lily was glad to see the familiar pink and green lights looming in front of them as they approached the welcoming shop. A bell attached to the door tinkled as they walked in. Alice immediately drifted towards the sugar quills, which Lily knew was her favorite and Natalie ventured towards the back of the store, where Lily remembered that was where the owners kept their more interesting candies. 

Lily, however, veered left and headed towards the chocolate frogs. As she reached the wall that housed the popular candy, she heard a ruckus outside, however the noise soon calmed down, so she didn’t think anything of it. Probably just a few wizards that had had a tad too much to drink at The Three Broomsticks. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” a voiced said slyly from her right. She jumped from the sudden intrusion. 

Sirius Black was walking out from behind a shelf that held sugar mice. He had a large smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked incredulously.

“Well I was thinking about that time when we were in the Gryffindor Common Room and you accidentally let loose a whole box of chocolate frogs.”

“And…” Lily said. “You just thought you’d kip down here for some frogs?”

“Kind of,” Sirius grinned. “And I figured you’d be looking for a cassette. Have you found any so far?”

“No,” Lily said. “But I’ve been keeping an eye out.”

“Well I think I can help you,” Sirius said, rummaging in his pocket. He pulled out a blank cassette and held it out for Lily.

“You!” she exclaimed loudly. “You left those tapes?”

“Nope,” Sirius said. “You’ll need to listen to the tape in order to find out who did that.”

“I didn’t bring the player,” she said.

“Lucky for you, I was sent with one,” Sirius said, now pulling a player out of nowhere. 

Just as he was about to hand it over, a loud bang shook the building. A flash of white light burst through the front window and shattered the glass over the front half of the store. Sirius pushed Lily to the ground and ducked down with her. 

“What the –“he exclaimed. 

Lily already had her wand out. “Death Eaters!” she exclaimed, seeing the black robes marching down the street from out the broken window. Without pausing to think, she conjured a patronus and sent it off to the Order. 

Screams rent the distance. 

“We have to help!” Lily exclaimed. Sirius was already getting up off the floor. Lily thought for a moment of Alice and Natalie, but she didn’t have to think much before her two friends were by her side with their wands out, as well. 

“Let’s go,” Lily was in charge. “Be ready. They will not hesitate to kill you.”

The simple sentence Lily muttered made the situation even more serious.

Just then, another figure ran from the back of the store. A mane of shaggy black hair framed his worried face. 

“James! What are you doing here?” Lily asked. 

“Never mind that. We have to go,” James said. 

The group walked slowly together out of the entrance, huddled for safety. The warm night had turned cool and the sun had disappeared. To their right was silence, but to the left they heard a commotion. 

“Sirius, take Natalie and Alice and come around the other side,” James guided. Sirius nodded, and the girls followed him into an alley to go around the back. 

“Are you okay?” James asked Lily quickly.

“Yes,” Lily said, her head surprisingly clear. “There are people out there who need help.”

“Alright, then let’s go,” James led her forward. 

They saw the commotion. There were five Death Eaters standing in the middle of the cobbled street, gathering together as many civilians into the middle of their circle as they could. The other witches and wizards were wandless, Lily could see one of the Death Eaters was carrying about ten wands. There was a child in the middle, as well, huddled up against his mother. A spark of rage flickered in Lily at the sight.

As soon as she was within range, she took aim and fired a stunning spell at the nearest Death Eater. He dropped quickly, but the sudden downfall of their partner caused the others to turn towards the source of the spell. Within a second, bright lights were flying right towards Lily and James.

“Protego!” James screamed, pulling Lily behind him. His spell had the proper affect and they were safe from the oncoming hail of spells. “Stupefy!”

James’s spell missed, and another came right back at them. Lily stepped out from behind James and began firing her own defense. Quickly, they were in a full-fledged duel. Lily ducked and dived, shooting every spell imaginable towards the others. At one point, the brick of the building behind them shattered and debris fell on top of them. Lily felt a large chunk smack her head and she was sure she was bleeding, but she didn’t stop. 

As soon as she began to wonder where the others had gotten to, they appeared from around a corner, shooting their own spells at the Death Eaters. One or two more dropped and it looked like they were evenly matched how. Lily got as close as she could to the witches and wizards stuck in the middle of the fight, but another Death Eater was gunning on her, clearly trying to prevent her from doing what she wanted. 

“I got him, Lily! Get them out of here!” Sirius jumped in next to her and started to duel the Death Eater that had previously been aiming for Lily. 

Lily studied the rope that was holding the innocent together and then cut through it with her wand. “Let’s go.”

The group looked terrified. Lily led them as quickly as she could towards an alley that she hoped was clear of danger. They followed her. She felt a tug on her pants and noticed the young boy was holding onto her. His mother was holding onto him. None of these people were armed. She was all the protection they had. 

“We’ll get you to The Three Broomsticks,” Lily said. “Madam Rosmerta will be able to keep you safe.”

They traveled quickly, Lily keeping her wand dark, so she didn’t bring attention to them. They didn’t reach any obstacles until they reached The Three Broomsticks and the door was locked shut. Madam Rosmerta must have known of the commotion and blocked anyone from entering or leaving. It was a smart idea but didn’t help them out any when they were on the outside.

Thinking quickly, Lily turned and headed towards the small music shop next door. Luckily, that door was open. The small woman stood up as she entered, obviously surprised by the sudden influx of people. 

“Hello, I was in here earlier,” Lily explained quickly.

“Yes, I remember,” the woman replied hesitantly. 

“There are Death Eaters,” Lily continued, and the woman looked shocked. Possibly she hadn’t heard the ruckus with the music on and nobody had bothered to run in and announce the news. “These people were being held hostages. They took their wands. Do you have any place for them to stay hidden until the Ministry comes?”

Lily was thankful that the woman didn’t hesitate. “Come,” she beckoned. 

She led the party all the way to the back of the store and through to a room that housed all the extra supplies that it took to run a music store. Lily vaguely noticed a sheep that looked confused by the sudden interruption tucked back in the corner. Though the woman was busy shepherding the group, she didn’t miss Lily’s glance towards the unexpected animal. 

“The wool is good for strings,” she explained, then continued to a back closet. She pushed the people inside. “Stay put.”

Lily looked at all the people. “I will come back when everything is safe.”

The woman closed the door on the scared wizards.

“Thank you so much,” Lily said. “I promise to be back as soon as everything is clear.”

“You shouldn’t be going back out there, dear!” the woman said. “I’ll lock up and we can stay put until it’s safe.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Lily said. “Thank you again.”

Before the woman could argue, Lily was dashing back out the store, back towards the battle. She wasn’t a runner, but her adrenaline kicked into gear. Up ahead, she didn’t hear as much of a ruckus as she had earlier. She slowed down as she neared the spot where the fight had been. Before stepping out into the open, she peaked around the corner. She saw Dumbledore standing in the middle of the street, securing the Death Eaters that had fallen. She scanned the clearing but couldn’t find James. Without hesitating any longer, she ran forward. 

The first person that she saw was Peter Pettigrew. “Peter! Where’s James?”

Peter jumped a bit at the sudden noise, but he looked relieved when he saw Lily. “He was looking for you. Padfoot said you led the others off somewhere and would be back, but James was worried.”

“Do you know which way he went?”

“That way,” Peter pointed towards an alley close by. Lily thanked him and jogged off towards the darkness. 

Before she even turned the corner, she ran straight into a large body that had been jogging towards them. Knocked off balance, two large hands steadied her. She investigated the face of James who immediately grabbed her face and kissed her hard.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said and pulled her close.

“Me too,” Lily said. “I can’t believe they were here, too.”

“I know,” James agreed, still holding her close.

“Why were you here, anyway?” Lily asked after a moment, pulling away enough that she could see his face. James looked like he was making a quick decision. He scanned the area and then let his shoulders drop. He reached into his back pocket and pulled a silver ring with a large diamond out.

“To give this to you,” James said. “Padfoot was supposed to give you the tape, and then when you played it, it was supposed to tell you to turn around, and I’d be standing there. But, I guess that plans awash now.”

Lily looked shocked, more at the ring than the plan. “You made the cassettes?”

“Yes,” James admitted. “I remember you telling me about them this past year. I thought that they would be a perfect way to do this.”

James knelt in front of Lily, and she put her hands to her mouth in awe. 

“Lily Evans, we have been on an amazing adventure together. When we parted for Christmas this past year, you told me you loved me at King’s Cross. I made a cassette for us to visit there together again. Our first date was right here in this village. And when I heard you talking about Nice, I knew that was a place I wanted to visit with you someday, so I made a cassette that would take us there. In just the past few days, you have shown me just how strong and compassionate you are. You bring out the best in me, and I want to continue to adventure through this life with you.”

James held the right up.

“Will you marry me?”

Lily took the ring from James, tears welling in her eyes and leaned down to kiss him softly. “Of course,” she whispered. 

James quickly stood and lifted Lily off her feet, twirling her around once before setting her down again to kiss her. 

“Whoo!” came a cheer from behind them. Lily turned and laughed when she saw Sirius punching his fist into the air. 

“I love you,” she said to James. 

“I love you, too,” he replied. “I’m sorry this wasn’t perfect…”

“It was,” Lily said. “Like you’ve said before, there will always be fear, but you have to move past it and live. You can’t let fear stop you from being with the ones you love.”

James kissed her again. 

“Ah, Lily, James, congratulations,” Dumbledore approached them. “Seeing love blossom in the middle of chaos is a very hopeful thing, indeed.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Lily said, blushing a bit at her Headmaster being there for this special moment. 

“I’m sure that you will want to celebrate with your friends, however, I have one thing I’d like to discuss with you before you go.”

“Yes, sir,” James said. 

“After the events of the past week, I think that I am right in concluding that Lord Voldemort has been sending his Death Eaters to deter you from joining the Order,” Dumbledore explained.

Lily gasped. “But why just us? What about Sirius, Peter or Remus?”

“Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew have been spending much of their time at headquarters, so it is possible that Lord Voldemort was not able to pinpoint their positions. And I seem to think that because of Mr. Lupin’s infliction, Lord Voldemort doesn’t see him as a threat, though, of course, that does not speak to Mr. Lupin’s true abilities. You two, however, have been out in the public more often than not. And with you, Miss Evans, being a muggleborn, and you, Mr. Potter being from a prominent pureblood family, it seems that you were his first targets.”

“So, what should we do?” James asked. 

“It is my request that we get you set up at a safehouse for the time being,” Professor Dumbledore explained. “There are a few rooms open at headquarters. I believe that once the Death Eaters realize that you are not a ready target, they will move on to other ways of tormenting the world. Though, of course, you should always remain cautious.”

“As long as we’re together,” James said, taking Lily’s hand.

“Of course!” Dumbledore clapped his hands together. “Now please don’t let me hold you up any longer. I will be at your apartment bright and early to assist with any moving that may be done. Until then, I believe you and your friends should continue onto The Three Broomsticks for some much-deserved rebel-rousing!”

“Thank you,” James grinned. 

“Professor, there’s an old music store next to The Three Broomsticks. That’s where I hid the hostages…”

“We will make sure all are returned safely to wherever they may call home. Thank you for your help tonight,” Professor Dumbledore turned swiftly and went to speak to other, older Order members. 

Lily and James’s friends quickly bounded on them once Dumbledore was gone. Lily and James were congratulated and hugged many times before Sirius announced, “The first round’s on me!”

As the group made their way back to Rosmerta’s, James took Lily’s hand once again. 

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” she replied. 

Together they made their way down the street, ready to take on the world together.


End file.
